BS reported that Nuclear Power Corporation and French nuclear major Areva are expected to sign a commercial agreement by December for the supply of European Pressurized Reactors of 1,650 MW for the proposed 9,900 MW Jaitapur project in Maharashtra.

They entered into an early works contract in December 2010 and were to sign the final deal in June 2011. This was deferred after the French nuclear safety regulator asked Areva to conduct a fresh review of safety applications in the wake of the Fukushima accident in Japan. Areva gave its report on September 15th 2011 to the French regulator, which is to review it and then give its findings to the French government.

Mr Francois Bouteille, Areva’s senior vice president for safety and licensing, told Business Standard that "The French regulator will have an in-depth review in October and November on our comprehensive report on EPR safety applications. The French government is expected to accord its approval by December. The findings will be made available to India’s nuclear regulator, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board."

Mr Bouteille said that Areva would not compromise on safety and security. He added that "Once these procedures are complete Areva will be in a position to sign the necessary agreement with NPC."

Mr Sreekumar Banjerjee chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission also said that the commercial agreement with Areva would be possible by December. He said NPC had revisited the safety applications at its 20 plants, with generation capacity of 4,780 MW and done various upgradation.

From the early works contract between NPC and Areva, the latter is to initially supply two EPRs of 1,650 Mw each and, later, four EPRs of the same capacity. Jaitapur entails an investment of about INR 1 lakh crore. The commercial agreement would decide the terms on cost of EPRs, as NPC is insisting on localization to reduce the capital cost and the unit supply rate. Areva has been negotiating with a number of Indian companies to achieve localization of reactors and other critical nuclear components.

An NPC official, who did not want to be identified, said the post Fukushima slowdown and postponement of signing of the final works contract with Areva meant the Jaitapur project would be delayed by at least a year. Instead of commissioning in 2017-18, this would be now done in 2018-19.

Mr Banerjee said that "India needs an energy mix. According to our calculations, nuclear power is competitive and comparatively cheap. It will cost around INR 4 per unit in 2017-18, which is quite acceptable compared to the rates of thermal and gas based projects."

(Sourced from Business Standard)